Research Briefs
Proficiency by 2014: Closing
the Achievement Gap
As part of a statewide education
initiative, Western Kentucky University and other state AEL, Inc. co-venture partners are collaborating with
the Kentucky Department of Education to try to close the minority
achievement gap. The other AEL Inc.
partners include universities from
Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee,
and in Kentucky, University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. In
his efforts to move all children in
Kentucky to proficiency by 2014,
Commissioner Wilhoit has charged
the group with identifying successful
strategies of individual schools and
school districts to decrease the minority achievement gap. Western
Kentucky University is a major player
in the efforts to move all children in
the commonwealth to proficiency. As
such, the University is in a position to
help improve the education of all of
our youth.
Through a grant from KDE, Dr.
Jackie Pope-Tarrence, Associate Professor of Psychology, is assisting
three of the seven pilot school districts in their efforts to research and
evaluate the development and implementation of strategies designed to
reduce the minority achievement gap
and move all students to proficiency.
Although there are common questions that will be addressed across
all of the participating districts,
each district has implemented its
own plan in an effort to close the
gap.
Researchers at the three universities will:
• assist the school districts in
deciding the types of data to
be assembled
• help the schools implement
the necessary procedures to
collect the data
• assist with analyzing and interpreting the data collected
• help each district address key
questions common to all participating school districts
• determine which strategies
were successful and disseminate this information to other
schools across the Commonwealth
Each district and participating
school has organized a team of administrators, teachers, and staff
personnel to implement their plan
and assess its effects on student
achievement. Assistance from the
participating universities will help
schools use data more effectively in
making curriculum and instructional decisions, help faculty use
data to confront issues that are
critical to improving student
achievement, help school administrators and teachers use data to develop strategies for engaging parents and the community in decreasing the gap, and help school
administrators and teachers use
data to evaluate the effectiveness
of chosen strategies.
Dr. Jackie Pope-Tarrence
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The Western Scholar | Fall 2002
have collaborated to fund the
Project for over a million dollars over the years. Teachers
receive both a stipend and
graduate credit hours for their
participation. The results are
impressive.
Nearly 340 teachers will
have completed the Project
by summer’s end, empowering them to reach students
and other teachers in their
home districts and schools.
The State of Kentucky benefits from increased quality in
teacher performance: over a
Liz Jensen and Denise Henry, far left, two WKU Writing Project teachers at Cumberland Trace Elementary School,
dozen Project teachers have
Bowling Green, have lunch with Governor Patton at the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts
become principals, six have
Annual Conference, February 2002, at Ft Thomas, KY.
been tapped by the KDE for
state positions, four have beWKU Writing Project
ence in the WKU Writing Project has
come presidents of state professional
Improves Teachers’ Skills
been a refocusing of my methods, stratorganizations, and over a hundred
egies, and evaluation techniques for
function as writing consultants or
“As a teacher I feel revitalized both
teaching writing. I feel as if I have been
Cluster Leaders for their schools. Fipersonally and professionally. I feel a
able to develop more fully my philosonally, Western benefits by assisting
confidence I haven’t felt before in my
phy of teaching writing.” — Jon
teachers in achieving their Rank I and
writing and teaching.” — Anonymous
Fredericks, Barren County Schools
II, and National Board certification —
The WKU Writing Project — an afThere are many similar comments
and by keeping active in the developfiliate of the National Writing Project
that come in from the evaluation of
ment and evolution of the Kentucky
(NWP), now in its 17th year at the
the activity each summer and during
Education Reform Act.
university — is designed to make
fall follow up school visits to observe
Listen to the teachers:
K-12th grade teachers better writers
the teachers implementing what they
“I’ve taught high school English for
and teachers of writing. The project is
learned in the workshops.
31 years. The WKU Writing Project was
funded annually by the NWP and the
To make this happen, the Kenthe single best teacher preparation I’ve
Kentucky Department of Education
tucky Department of Education, the
ever had. How I wish I had had that
for about $50,000 a year. Dr. John
National Writing Project, and Western
opportunity in the early years of my
Hagaman, Professor of English, has
teaching.” — Carolyn
managed these funds to improve pubSmith, Grayson
lic school teachers’ abilities to teach
County High School
writing; and the summer institutes
“The Writing
have paid great dividends for stuProject has been the
dents.
best and most benefiDr. Hagaman has perfected the
cial thing I have done
summer institutes. Every summer 20
in graduate work. Not
exemplary teachers are invited to paronly did it improve my
ticipate in an invitational Institute on
comfort level with
Western’s campus. Teachers brainwriting, it also imstorm, write, revise, workshop, and
proved my compepublish their writing; research current
tence. My students,
theory and practice in the teaching of
however, have benwriting; and demonstrate best teachefited the most!” —
A writing response group from the 2002 June WKU Writing Project Instiing practice before their peers. The
Jayne Squires, Green
tute share their writing at an orientation session, prior to the
participants laud the workshop.
Institute’s opening.
County Middle School
“The greatest benefit of my experi-
Western Kentucky University
29
First Steps Monitoring,
Resource and Assistance
Project
through workshops, on-site consultation, and quarterly informational meetings. An extensive resource center with
a variety of print and video materials is
housed on Western’s campus and is
The First Steps Monitoring, Reavailable for use by First Steps’ providsource and Assistance Project directed
ers and families within the region, as
by Dr. Vicki Stayton has been housed
well as Western faculty and stuat Western Kentucky Unidents. In addition, the program
versity since July 1, 1993
and parent consultants serve as
with total funding over that
staff to the regional First Steps’
period of time being apadvisory groups, the District
proximately $1,000,000.
Early Intervention Committees,
Funded by the Kentucky
in both the Barren and Green
Cabinet for Health Services,
River Area Development Disthe project has two major
tricts.
goals: (a) to provide trainOne professional staff meming and technical assistance
ber,
a monitoring specialist, enfor professionals and family
sures that the First Steps’ promembers specific to First
grams in these two regions are
Steps’ (early intervention)
following state policy and reguservices for infants and todlations in the implementation of
dlers with disabilities; and
early intervention services. The
(b) to monitor programs
monitoring specialist also has
that provide First Steps’ serprofessional experience in the
vices for infants and todFirst Steps’ program. Monitoring
dlers with disabilities and
occurs through paper review
their families. Geographiand on-site visits to programs
cally, this project serves the
on an alternating schedule. Writcounties within the Barren
ten reports are provided to the
River and Green River Area
Kentucky First Steps’ office in
Development Districts.
Frankfort with any follow-up
Two professional staff
with programs initiated through
members, a program conthat office.
sultant, and a parent conBrain research has documented the need for varied stimulation early in life.
PHOTO BY SHERYL HAGAN-BOOTH
sultant provide the training and technical assistance. The program consultant
has professional experience in the First
Steps’ program, and the parent consultant has a child who received First
Steps’ services. Training and technical
assistance to First Steps occurs
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Grant
Addresses Diversity in Public School Leadership
Dr. Lois Jircitano of the Department of Educational Administration,
Leadership and Research directs the
WKU Administrative Leadership Institute-Principalship Program. This grant
is funded at $135,000 by the Kentucky
Department of Education. It is designed to address the under-representation of minority administrators
currently available in the State of
Kentucky. Applicants are selected
from several geographical areas, from
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The Western Scholar | Fall 2002
a pool of candidates serving in various positions in the Kentucky
schools. Individuals are recommended for participation by building
supervisors; and represent multiple
disciplines, years of experience, and
different grade levels.
Students can earn a Master’s Degree in Education, while obtaining
administrative certification. Upon
graduation, students become eligible
for employment in an administrative
capacity throughout the state. Several
have achieved these positions during
the four years the program has been
in existence.
The WKU Kentucky Administrative Leadership Institute-Principalship
Program has contributed to the development of a diverse corps of qualified
leaders essential to assisting Kentucky schools to meet the challenges
of a multicultural global economy in
the 21st century.
WKU Projects Receive Research Enhancement Grants
Six Western Kentucky University
faculty members have received
awards totaling more than $120,000
in the Kentucky NSF EPSCoR Research Enhancement Grants competition. Of the seven full $25,000 awards
made to universities in Kentucky, researchers in Western’s College of Science and Engineering received three
of them. The Research Enhancement
Grants provide valuable seed money
to support and encourage science
and technology research and often
supplement existing grants to move
the state’s research agenda forward.
The National Science Foundation
established the Experimental Program
to Stimulate Competitive Research
(EPSCoR) in the late 1970s to balance
the geographical distribution of federal research funds. The goal of the
Kentucky NSF EPSCoR Research Enhancement Grant Program is to encourage talented faculty to remain in
the Kentucky education system and
to strengthen undergraduate teaching
and research in the areas of science
and technology.
The WKU faculty members who
received awards are:
Dr. Michael Carini, Physics and
Astronomy, “Photometric Monitoring
of BI Lacertae Objects,” $10,173.
Dr. Bonnie Furman, Biology, “Resurgence of Elk (Cervus Elaphus) in
Kentucky: PCR-Based Standards for
Long-Term Population Monitoring and
Use in Law Enforcement,” $25,000.
Dr. Sigrid Jacobshagen, Biology,
“Circadian Output Pathways Studies in
Chlamydomonas,” $13,439.
Dr. Doug McElroy, Biology, “Spectral
Sensitivity and Tuning of ERG b- and
d- Waves in Lake Malawi Cichlid
Fishes,” $25,000.
Dr. Ralph Salvatore, Chemistry,
“Cesium Base Promoted Chemoselective
P-Alkylations for the Generally Efficient
Synthesis of Substituted Phosphines,”
$25,000.
Dr. Young-Seok Shon, Chemistry,
“Synthesis and Technological Applications of Functionalized Dendritic
Nanocapsule,” $22,450.
Western Leads Social Work
Training in the Region
sional development partnership
between Kentucky’s eight public
universities and the Cabinet for
Families and Children. Each
year this partnership helps provide more than 2,400 training
events.
The primary goal of WKU’s
University Training Resource
Center is to support opportunities to further enhance the excellence in training, teaching,
and organizational growth for
those human service workers
(which total nearly one thousand) in the regions of Barren
River, Green River, and Lincoln
Trail. Thus, nearly every county
west of I-65 and east, from the
Land Between the Lakes, is included.
The TRC is committed to
providing adult and child welfare workers with the necessary
professional training to meet the demands of their jobs, to enhance job
performance, and to improve service
delivery. As a service oriented program, the Training Resource Center
has adopted five principles of opera-
tion which guide its efforts: quality
and timely service, a spirit of collaboration, friendliness and sincerity,
making the Center a good place to
work, and the development of outstanding staff and students.
The Western Kentucky University
Program of Social Work’s Training
Resource Center (TRC) is an adult
professional development program.
The Training Resource Center is a
Federally funded project under contract with Kentucky’s Cabinet for
Families and Children. The TRC’s primary client is the Training Branch for
the Division of Community-Based
Services.
Each year the TRC receives a
grant in excess of $100,000 to provide
multipurpose adult professional development training for social, human,
and juvenile justice services professionals. It addition, it develops quality
educational experiences for at-risk
and delinquent youth.
Western’s efforts, through the
TRC, are part of a larger public service effort. In 1989, Western became
the first training consortium of what
now includes all eight of Kentucky’s
public universities. The University
Training Consortium (UTC) is a
unique, nationally recognized profes-
Western Kentucky University
31
T H E
W E S T E R N
K E N T U C K Y
U N I V E R S I T Y
Research Foundation, Inc.
PHOTO BY SHERYL HAGAN-BOOTH
In December 1998, President Gary Ransdell directed the
formation of the Western Kentucky University Research
Foundation, Inc. (WKURF) to facilitate and expedite scholarship at Western. His vision resulted in approval of the
WKURF by the WKU Board of Regents in September 1999,
the State of Kentucky in November, and by the IRS as a
501(c)(3) not-for-profit to serve the educational needs of
Western and the community in February 2000. Since July 1,
2001 the WKURF has become operational as the unaffiliated
fiscal agent of most external funds from grants, contracts,
and cooperative agreements.
The WKURF is governed by a thirteen-member Board of
Directors that is community-oriented. The Chair of the
Board must not be a Western employee. Community members serving on the board hail from a variety of community
agencies and businesses. Six members of the board represent Western’s principal academic units. Serving the board
in ex officio capacities are the WKU President, Chief Financial Officer, Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and the WKURF Executive Director, who is charged
with the financial management and development of the
foundation. A Business Manager assists the Board in ensuring that accountability, allocability, and consistency standards are met. The board’s guidance and the cooperation
of senior university officials have enabled the WKURF to
implement a management agreement and financial procedures with WKU. Currently, the board is working to provide
more incentives for faculty members performing research
and creative activities.
The rapid growth of external funding in the form of
grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements stimulated
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The Western Scholar | Fall 2002
the formation of the WKURF. Over the past five years the
efforts of Western’s faculty and staff members, along with
their students, have increased external awards from
$11,500,000 to nearly $23,000,000. The Foundation is thus
a big step to the next level of funding. The goal is to reach
the $30,000,000 mark by June 30, 2006. However, the figures are not as important as the research, instruction, and
public service programs that these funds make possible.
New programs to increase student learning and faculty development are the results of these combined efforts. New
positions in all of the academic colleges and many support
units have invigorated Western with activities and infrastructures that would not have been possible under state
funding alone.
The WKURF provides many services that would not otherwise be available to Western. It promotes financial flexibility, provides incentives for intellectual property opportunities, provides customized services for contracting with
business and industry, and, most importantly, helps Western to attract and retain quality researchers. The WKURF
accomplishes these services by promoting the development,
implementation, and coordination of extramurally-funded
sponsored programs. The investment policy of the Board of
Directors has the potential for providing even more incentives to best accomplish our educational purposes.
We hope that you’ll take an interest in the growth of the
WKURF as one new feature among many exciting areas of
growth of Western Kentucky University. You can reach the
WKU Research Foundation at 270-745-4652 and ask for Dr.
Phil Myers, the Executive Director, or e-mail
research.foundation@wku.edu.